Method of and apparatus for securing inclosure elements on containers



Oct. 18, 1932. D. o. SHEWMON ETAL METHOD OF AND APPARATUS FOR SECURINGlNCLOSURE ELEMENTS ON CONTAINERS Filed Aug. 50, 1930 2 Sheets-Sheet lINVENTURS D. D. SHEWMON R Y E M D 0 E W 0 A M cm .R W2 w? B Oct. 18,1932.

' D. D. SHEWMON ET AL 1,383,011

METHOD OF AND APPARATUS FOR SECURING INCLOSERE ELEMENTS 0N CONTAINERSFiled Aug. 50, 1930 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 1 I w fi //\/VE/\/7'ORS 67 L r7161?1 YSHEWMUN 70 76 U JJ SCHRUEDER 75 65 79 52 ffifn Patented Oct. 18, 1932UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE DAN D. SHEWMON, OF DUNELL-EN, NEW JERSEY,AND

WILLIAM s'onnonnnn, or on:-

CAGO, ILLINOIS, ASSIGNORS TO WESTERN ELECTRIC COMPANY, INCORPORATED, OFNEW YORK, N. Y., A CORPORATION OF NEW YORK i METHOD OF AND APPARATUS FORSECURING IN CLOSURE ELEMENTS ON CONTAINERS Application filed August 30,1930. Serial No. 479,065.

This invention relates to a method of and apparatus for securinginclosure elements on containers, and more particularly to a method ofand apparatus for positioning and 5 securing lags on cable reels.

An object of the invention is to provide a simple and efficient methodof and apparatus whereby inolosure elements may be secured to containersexpeditiously and with a minimum amount of manual labor.

One embodiment of the invention contemplates the provision of a methodof and apparatus for securing lags upon a cable reel by means of bandsof metal tape, wherein the reel is rolled in place between a pair ofjacks or elevators having center plugs adapted to be inserted in thecentral bore of the reel, the jacks being thereafter operated to elevatethe reel from the surface of the floor whereby it is rotatable upon thecenter plugs. The reel is rotated by means of radially extending armshaving gripping members for engaglng the first lag which is temporarilynailed or otherwise secured to the reel heads. The

gripping the ends of metal tapes which are drawn from supply rollsthrough the rotation of the reel and are applied upon the lags as thelatter are inserted in place between the tapes and the rotating reelheads. Means is provided for controlling and indicating the tensionunder which the metal tapes are applied to the reel. The tape supplyingand tension controlling mechanisms are movable to permit removal of alagged reel by rolling it in the same direction in which it was receivedin the apparatus. I

A more complete understanding of the invention will be had from thefollowing detailed description when read in conjunction with theaccompanying drawings, in which Fig. 1 is a side elevational view,partlyin section, of a reel lagging apparatus embody ing the features of theinvention;

Fig. 2 is a fragmentary and elevational view thereof on line 2-2 of Fig.1;

Fig. 3 is an enlarged fragmentary section on line 33 of Fig. 2;

Fig. 4 is an enlarged fragmentaryplan view gripping members are formedwith means for extending upwardly from of the metal tape and lagsupplying portion of the apparatus; 1 Fig. 5 is an elevational viewthereof;

Fig. 6 is an enlarged fragmentary section on line 66 of Fig. 5; i

Fig. 7 is an enlarged detail view of one of the lag and tape grippingmembers, and

F 8 is a cross sectional viewof line 8-8 ofFig. 7.

. Referring now to the drawings, in which like referencenumeralsdesignate the same parts in the several views, it will be observed thatthe invention is herein illustrated in conjunction with an apparatus forsecuring lags 8, 8 to a cable reel 10 by means of bands 9, 9 of metaltape or thelike. The reel is rotatably supported between a pair ofhydraulic jacks 1111 of any suitable type adapted to elevate the reelfrom the surface of a floor or platform 12. A tubular shaft 13 (Fig. 3)is rotatably j ournalled in a bearing portion 14; of each of the jacksl1, and slidably carried in each of the tubular shafts is a center plug15 upon which the reel is rotatably suspended.

A pair of worm gears 17 and 18 are mounted upon each of the tubularshafts 13 on opposite sides of the bearing portion 14, the gear 17 beingfree to rotate while the gear 18 is keyed to to be rotatable therewith.The worm gears 17 and 18 are arranged to be driven by worms 19 and 20keyed to vertical shafts 21 and 22, respectively. The shafts 21 and 22are rotatably journalled at their upper ends in a horizontal plate 24secured to posts 25, 25

v the bearing portions 14 of the jacks 11. Arms 26 and 27 extendinglaterally from the bearing portions 14 of the jacks are formed withsuitupon-the shaft, the shaft so as able bearings for rotatablysupporting the lower ends of the vertical shafts 21 and 22,respectively. I

The vertical shafts 21 are driven through bevel gears 29 and 30 from ahorizontal shaft 31 which, in turn, is driven through gears 32 and'33from an electric motor 34. The vertical shafts 22 are similarly driventhrough gears 35 and 36 from a horizontal shaft 37 which, in turn, isdriven through gears 38 and 39 from an electric motor 40.

The motors 34 and 40 are supported upon the horizontal plate 24, whichplate is also formed with suitable bearings 42, 42 (Fig. 2) for thehorizontal shafts 31 and 37. From the construction just described, itwill be understood that the worm gears 17 and 18 together with thedriving mechanism therefor, are supported by the jacks 11 and verticallymovable therewith.

A pair of reel driving arms 44-44 are secured at one end to the tubularshafts 18 so as to be rotatable therewith and extend radially along theouter faces of the heads of the reel. The outer ends of these armsproject beyond the peripheries of the reel heads and are formed with agroove 45 for interlocking engagement with a hook portion 46 of laggripping members 47 (Fig. 7 said hook portion being provided with aspring pressed locking plunger 48 for preventing accidental displacementof the lag gripping members with respect to the reel driving arms. Thelag gripping members 47 are formed with rectangular slots or pockets49-49 for receiving the end portions of the first lag 8 which isprovisionally secured in place on the reel by nailing or otherwise andare provided with a projecting tape gripping finger 50. The constructionis such that during the rotation of the reel, the ends of the metaltapes 9 are firmly gripped or wedged between the side of the first lag 8and the gripping fingers 50.

Securedat one end to the outer faces of the gears 17 area pair of spacedsupportmg arms 52 52 which are rigidly interconnected by cylindricalcross bars 53, 54 and 55.

.A pair of spaced idler rollers 56.-56 are carried upon the cross bar 53and asecond pair of rollers 5858 are rotatab-ly supported upon the crossbar 54 and are disposed in peripheral alignment with the rollers 56. Apair of grooved guide pulleys or rollers 6060 are rotatably carried bythe cross bar and are disposed in peripheral alignment with the rollers56 and 58.

A pair of rolls or pads 62-62 of the metal tape 9 are rotatably carriedupon the end portions of a horizontal shaft 63 supported in brackets6464 depending from the cross bars 54 and 55. The tape supply pads 62are held in position upon the shaft 63 by means of spider like retainingplates 66-66 threaded upon the ends of the shafts. Through the rotationof the reel by the driving arms 44 acting through the first lag 8, themetal tapes are drawn from the supply pads 62 over the idler rollers 58,around the grooved rollers and over the idler rollers 56.

In order to insure against breaking of the metal bands and displacementof the lags during transportation of the reel, it is necessary that themetal bands be applied thereto under a definite predetermined tension-For this purpose, mechanism is provided for controlling and indicatingthe tension of the metal tapes as they are applied to the reel. Thismechanism comprises a dynamometer 70 (Fig. 5), or other suitable tensionmeasuring device, which is adjustably connected at oneend to a fixed arm71 projecting from the bracket 64 and is connected at its opposite endto an adjustable spring pressed brake band 72 arranged around a frictionbrake drum 74 secured to or formed integral with the guide roller 60.Through the movement of the tape as it is drawn from the supply pad, theroller 60 and brake drum 74 are rotated against the braking pressure ofthe brake band 72. This braking pressure is reflected in the dynamometer70, which may be provided with a calibrated scale 7 5 and a cooperatingpointer 76 for indicating the tension under whichthe tape is applied tothe reel. It will be, obvious that the tension of the tape may bereadily varied by merely adjusting the brake; band 7 2.

The rollers 6Q are preferably rubber tired or otherwise constructed toeliminate slippage. betweenthe tape and the roller. In order to. furtherreduce such slippage, the tapeis passed between a stationary brake shoe78 and a movable spring pressed brake shoe 79 disposed between thesupply pad and the idler roller 58. p The stationary brake shoe 7 8 issecured to the bracket 64, and the movable brake shoe 79 is carried atone end of a lever 80 pivoted intermediate its ends upon a pin 81mounted in the bracket 64, and pivoted at its opposite end in abifurcated end portion 83 of a lever 84. The lever 84 is pivotedintermediate its ends upon a pin 85 mounted in the bracket 64 and isconnected near its opposite end to one end of a coil spring 87, theopposite end of which is adjustably attached to the bracket arm 71.Thus, it will be understood that the moving tape is pinched'between thebrake shoes 7 8 and 79 under the tension of the spring 87, which may beadjusted so as to apply the necessary, amount of. tension on the tape toreduce. to a minimum the slippage between the tape and the roller 60.

The outer end of the lever 84 is disposed. in the path of a pin 88 (Fig.6). extending from and movable with the pointer76 of the dynamometer 70.As the tension of the tape increases, the pin 88 movesupwardly anduponthe tension increasing above a predetermined amount, the pin engages thelever 84 thereby relieving the pressure of they brake shoe 79 to permitsuflicient slippage between the tape and'the roller 60to reduce thetension to the required amount.

In order to prevent longitudinal displacement of the, lags, they areeach provided with anotch 90 (Fig. 2) at either end thereof leavingshoulders 91 for engaging the internal faces ofthe reel heads. Theouter'face of each lag is provided with a pair of transversetape'receiving grooves 93 which serve to retain the tapes in definitepositions and also prevents them from protruding above the surface ofthe reel. r

In the operation of the above described apparatus, a reel is rolled inplace between the jacks 11 and the center plugs 15 are inserted in thecentral bore thereof. The first lag 8 is nailed or otherwise temporarilysecured to the heads of the reel after which the ends of the metal tape9 are bent inwardly over the under-side of the lag, and the lag grippingmembers 47 are placed in position upon the ends of the lag andinterlocked with the reel driving arms 44. The jacks 11 are thenoperated in a well known manner to elevate the reel from the surface ofthe floor sufficiently to permit its rotation upon the center plugs 15.Upon starting the motor 40, the reel driving arms 44 and thereby thereel are rotated in a counter-clockwise direction (Fi 1). The lags arefed by hand or otherwise to the upper surfaces of the tapes and are thusinserted in place between the rotating reel heads and the metal tapes 9as the latter are withdrawn from the supply pads 62 through the rotationof the reel. A vertical guide plate 95 secured to angle brackets 96extending from one of the roller supporting arms 52 is arranged toengage one end of the lags as they are advanced with the tapes, wherebythe lags are conveniently lo-' cated with respect to the reel heads.

hen the lagging operation has progressed to the position indicated indotted outline in Fig. 1, the rotation of the reel is discontinued bystopping the motor 40, whereupon the motor 34 is started to elevate thetape and roller supporting arms 52 to the position indicated in dot-tedoutline in Fig. 1. Upon the arms 52 arriving at this position, the motor34 is automatically stopped through the operation of a limit switch 98connected in the motor operating circuit. This switch is mounted upon abracket 99 secured to one of the vertical posts and is arranged to beactuated by an actuating arm 190 carried by one of the roller supportingarms 52.

\Vith th reel completely enclosed by the lags, the metal tapes 9 aresealed at 102 (Fig. 1) in any suitable manner to form continuous bands,and it will be understood that during the sealing operation the tapesare maintained under the required predetermined tension which isindicated by the dynamometer in the manner above described. Afterthe'tape sealing operation, the tapes are severed adjacent the seals,the lag gripping members 47 are removed, and the reel is discharged byrolling it in the same direction in which it was received in theapparatus. The roller supporting arms 52 are then lowered through therotation of the motor 34 in a reverse direction. A limit switch 105 ismounted in the lower end of a supporting leg 106 pivotally carried uponthe shaft 63 and is connected in the operating circuit of the motor 34so as to automatically stop the motor upon its engagement with the floorwhen the roller supporting arms 52 arrive at their original or startingpositions.

It is believed that the advantages of the apparatus of the presentinvention will be i apparent from the above description. The simple andcompact arrangement of the apparatus, the convenient method of feedingthe lags, the efficient means for applying the metal bands under apredetermined indicated tension, and the facilities for supplying andremoving the reels in straight line progression contribute to provide anapparatus of maximum eiiic1ency and economy.

It will be understood that the embodiment 1" plying a retaining elementto the inclosure elements under tension, sealing the retaining elementunder a tension equivalent to the tension existing therein in thecompleted container, and simultaneously indicating the tension.

2. A method of securing inclosure elements to a container, whichconsists in positioning the inclosure elements on the container,applying a retaining element to the inclosure elements under a tensionequivalent to the tension existing'therein in the completed container,and maintaining the tension of the retaining element within apredetermined range.

3. A method of securing lags to a reel, which consists in positioningthe lags upon the reel, applying a lag retaining element to the lagsunder a tension corresponding to the tension thereof under which thelags are secured in the completed reel, and simultaneously measuring thetension.

4. In an apparatus for securing inclosure elements on a container bymeans of a retainclosure elements on the container, means for applyingthe retaining element under a tension equivalent to the tension existingtherein in the completed container, and meansfor indicating the tension.

ing element, means for positioning the in- 5. In an apparatus forsecuring inclosure elements on a container by means of strip material,means for applying the strip material under a tension equivalent to thetension existing therein in the completed container, and means formeasuring and indicating the tension.

6. In an apparatus for securing inolosure elements on a container bymeans of a retaining element, means for positioning the inclosureelements on the container, means for applying the retaining element uponthe inclosure elements, friction braking means for maintaining theretaining element under a tension corresponding to the tension existingtherein in the completed container, and means responsive to an abnormaltension in the retaining element for varying the effectiveness of thefriction braking means.

7. In an apparatus for securing lags to a reel by means of metal tape,means for positioning the lags on the reel, means for applying the metaltape to the lags under a predetermined tension equivalent to the tensionunder which the lags are secured in the completed reel, and means forsimultaneously measuring and indicating the tension.

8. In an apparatus for securing lags to a reel by means of metal tape,means for positioning the lags on the reel, means for applying the metaltape to the lags under a predetermined tension equivalent to the tensionexisting therein in the completed reel, means for measuring andindicating the tension, and means responsive to an abnormal tension inthe tape for varying the tension thereof.

9. In an apparatus for lagging reels, means for rotatably supporting areel, means for rotating the reel, means mounted co-axia-lly with therotating means and in line with the reel as it is received into theapparatus for fastening lags upon the reel, and means for moving the lagfastening means to permit removal of the reel in the same direction inwhich it was received in the apparatus.

10. In an apparatus for lagging reels, means for rotatably supporting areel, an arm pivoted at one end coaxially with the reel and extendingradially thereof, means for driving the arm to rotate .the reel, asecond arm pivoted at one end coaxially with the reel and extendingradially thereof, means carried by the second arm for supplying lags andlag retaining bands to the reel, and means for rotating the second armabout the axis of the reel to permit the removal of the reel in the samedirection in which it was received in the apparatus.

11. In an apparatus for securing inolosure elements to a container bymeans of a retaining element, a frame, means to engage a containerrotatably therein, means to rotate the container, an auxiliary framepivotally mounted on the frame, and means mounted on the auxiliary frameto supply a retaining element to the container.

12. In an apparatus for lagging reels, a frame, means to engage a reelrotatably therein, means to raise the frame and reel,

means to rotate the reel, an auxiliary frame pivotally mounted on theframe, and means mounted on the auxiliary frame to supply lags and astrap to the reel.

In witness whereof, we hereunto subscribe our names this 26th day ofAugust, A. D.

